themiz816

my civic drives great all year as long the the weather is cool. But when it gets warm outside its like it flips a switch. (more than just the normal loss of performance in hot weather) The pedal feels hard to push, the car will barely make it up hills, and it will barely get off the line at stop signs. No exaggerations, its severe loss of power. At one point (after replacing some things) i went to autozone and I had a code 16 CEL even though no check engine light was on.

So, its been doing this the last 2 summers and I've been suffering with it. I HAVE to figure it out before next summer.

So far I've tried spark plugs, spark plug wires, ignition coil, main relay, cold air intake. I change oil and use a fuel system cleaner every 3000 miles.

I only have limited money to chase this, but should I go after the fuel pump next? Any other ideas?

ameer_vtec99

well i don't think this problem from the fuel pump because its only in the summer its happening to your civic if the problem from the fuel pump it will be all the year same status nothing will change

KCHC

it might be a fuel problem. it sounds like your gas is evaporating and not being pumped properly to the injectors.

Former User

Give more details about this^

What pedal?

Is the hard pedal perfectly correlated with power loss?

Have you checked for a clogged cat?

Have you inspected the distributor cap and rotor?

After resetting the ECU, has the code returned?

kvnpadilla

try the basic tune up process.check timing belt,valve clearances,engine oil grade.how about checking your clutch system?there are just too many possible causes so basic inspection and maintenance procedures should he your first task.

themiz816

Thank you all for your replies. I forgot to mention catalytic converter was replaced toward the end of last summer.

I'm talking about the accelerator. Maybe its in my head but it feels like you really have to push on it with the car is being sluggish. (it offers more resistance).
I have changed timing belt about 30,000miles ago. Use 5w30 oil. Automatic transmission.

KCHC: can you elaborate on what you mean? why does it sound like gas is evaporating and not making it to the injectors. what would need to be replaced to correct this issue?
Haven't looked at distributor cap and rotor recently. That would be a cheap item for me to go after when it starts acting up.

I have not reset the ECU. How do you do that in this year civic?

94preludeguy

You replaced the ignition coil, have you tested the igniter? Whenever I have problems related to warm/hot weather it always seems to be an igniter or main relay.

themiz816

this is gonna sound rediculous, but what is the igniter??? and where is it located. i dont know that i've even heard of that. Like i said, i replaced the main relay and it did no good.

94preludeguy

This is for a B-Series Distributor that I rebuilt a couple of years ago. Pretty much the same on a D-Series. The ignition coil (what you replaced) is the big black box. The igniter is the smaller thin box that will be brown or black. You can use igniters out of many cars, 90-93 Accord distributors are going to be the easiest car to get one off of. NEC is the brand you want, not Hitachi or others.

Autozone can test it for you if you don't have a multimeter or the "know-how".

Former User